NK cell activity is regulated by the integration of positive and negative signals. One important source of these signals for human NK cells is the killer Ig-like receptor (KIR) family, which includes both members that transduce positive and those that generate negative signals. KIR3DL1 inhibits NK cell activity upon engagement by its ligand HLA-Bw4. The highly homologous KIR3DS1 is an activatin...

We previously demonstrated in the Chinese macaque model that an oral vaccine made of inactivated SIV and Lactobacillus plantarum induced CD8(+) regulatory T-cells, which suppressed the activation of SIV(+)CD4(+) T-cells, prevented SIV replication, and protected macaques from SIV challenges. Here, we sought whether a similar population of CD8(+) T-regs would induce the suppression of HIV replica...

Natural killer (NK) cells play a role in the clearance of viral infections. Combinations of alleles at the polymorphic HLA-B locus and the NK cell surface killer immunoglobulin-like receptor locus KIR3DL1/S1 have been shown to influence time to AIDS in HIV-infected individuals and risk of seroconversion in HIV exposed seronegative (HESN) subjects. Here, we assessed time to seroconversion or dur...

Certain human class I histocompatibility-linked leukocyte antigen (HLA)/killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypic combinations confer more favourable prognoses upon exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These combinations influence natural killer (NK) cell function, thereby implicating NK cells in protection from HIV infection or disease progression. Because CD8(+) T ce...

Killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIRs) bind cognate HLA class I ligands with distinct affinities, affecting NK cell licensing and inhibition. We hypothesized that differences in KIR and HLA class I genotypes predictive of varying degrees of receptor-ligand binding affinities influence clinical outcomes in autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Using...

Comparison of mutant killer cell Ig-like receptor (KIR) 3DL1*015 substituted at natural positions of variation showed that tryptophan/leucine dimorphism at position 283 uniquely changes receptor conformation and can strongly influence binding of the A24nef tetramer. Dimorphic motifs at positions 2, 47, and 54 in D0 and 182 and 283 in D1+D2 distinguish the two 3DL1 lineages, typified by 3DL1*005...

KIR3DL1 is an inhibitory HLA-B receptor of human NK and T cells that exhibits genetic and phenotypic polymorphism. KIR3DL1*004, a common allotype, cannot be detected on the surface of PBLs using the KIR3DL1-specific Ab DX9. The nature of this phenotype was investigated through comparison of 3DL1*004 with 3DL1*002, an allele giving high DX9 binding to cell surfaces. Analysis of Jurkat T cell tra...

Inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin receptors (KIR) bind to major histocompatibility complex antigens. Concise knowledge of KIR ligands allows prediction of natural killer (NK)-cell alloreactivity after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. KIR3DL1 binds to the Bw4 epitope on HLA-B antigens. Although the same epitope is also found on 4 HLA-A antigens (HLA-A23/24/25/32), these are not curre...

Receptors encoded within the Natural Killer Cell (NKC) complex and Killer Immunoglobulin like (KIRs) genomic regions have been suggested to influence malaria pathogenesis and infection susceptibility. We have examined KIR locus in relation to risk of infection and disease in Tea tribes (TT) of Austro Asiatic affinity and Tibeto-Burman (TB) populations from malaria endemic regions of Assam. Cons...